On the effect of manganin gauge geometries upon their response to lateral stress

This work concerns the calibration of manganin gauges of different geometry used to measure the lateral component of the stress field behind a shock. The response of the gauges was calibrated for a series of stress levels for two differing gauge geometries. Below a lateral stress of about 3.5 GPa, T-shaped gauges have a lower change in resistance than their grid-shaped counterparts. However, above this level, T- and grid-geometries have a common response. Analysis indicates that the T gauges are behaving like embedded wire gauges in this stress regime. Such behaviour must be accounted for, especially in low impedance materials shocked to low stress levels.